Monstrous death of the victims of Vesuvius

(ORDO NEWS) — People who took refuge in stone boat sheds during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius died much more slowly than those who did not hide, accepting the most terrible and painful death.

During the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, the explosion did not immediately kill everyone in Herculaneum, the sea outpost of Pompeii.

People managed to hide in stone sheds for boats, where a more painful death awaited them: they baked and suffocated for a long time. This is indicated by the results of recent studies.

Previously, it was believed that everyone who fled from the legendary eruption was instantly burned by a wave of hot volcanic gases and hot ash that covered the city.

But a recent analysis of the remains found in Herculaneum refutes this theory and tells of a slower and more terrible death for those who escaped from the shock wave.

The researchers studied bone structure and collagen levels in 152 people found in boat sheds. Scientists found more collagen than expected, which means the victims didn’t just burn out in the heat of Vesuvius.

The structure of their ribs suggests that the fugitives were exposed to lower temperatures than those that were at the time of the eruption on the streets of the city.

According to estimates, the temperature of the blast wave was up to 480°C.

The results of the research paint a gruesome picture: the inhabitants of Herculaneum hid only to be baked alive, choking on toxic volcanic gas.

The asylum turned out to be a torture chamber from which no one could get out, concludes the author of the study, anthropologist Tim Thompson from Teesside University in Middlesbrough (England).

Mostly women and children hid in the boat sheds. Men were found on the coast nearby, where they launched boats to sail away from the fiery hell.

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